I started going to a new mechanic because he seemed trustworthy.
Well, a few weeks ago I skid on some black ice (at ~5mph) and my front right wheel hit the curb. The car could barely get up to 15mph without vibrating horribly, so rather than take it to that "trustworthy" mechanic I took it to my local auto shop. They told me it was just a bent rim and that I needed an alignment. I bought a new rim and had it swapped on, called my mechanic and asked how much they charged for alignment - they told me their machine was broken.
Well just to be on the safe side and make sure everything else was good I took it there anyway and had them put it on a lift. They pointed at the bent(?) LCA and told me that was gone, and that they didn't know what else was broken and suggested that I just replace the whole right side suspension to the tune of $800 ($600 parts, $200 labor). I told them I would buy the parts and bring it in (got it much cheaper). So they put it on (supposedly) and tell me the car's ready, I owe them $300 for labor. Upon asking why $300 when they told me $200 before, they told me they did an alignment for me (i thought the machine was broken?) and they had "more work than anticipated" thus the extra $40. I thought whatever, this guy's an ass but I need my car.
I start driving it home and notice that that on one occasion that day when I hit the brakes my foot just fell to the floor and the brakes literally failed (felt like the weak rears were the only ones that were working). The brakes were fine for the rest of the day (though I didn't drive it much). The brakes failed on me again two days later and I almost hit a guy, so this definitely isn't a fluke and needs to be looked at. Plus, the car pulls to the right when i'm driving slow and pulls to the left when i'm driving on the highway. I dropped it off last Wednesday (it's been about ~3 weeks now since i've actually used my car).
Well I call up yesterday morning, Friday, the owner "isn't there" but apparently my car hasn't even been looked at. They promise it'd be done later that evening. Didn't call them up yesterday but asked for the owner again this morning. The owner doesn't seem to want to speak to me so the mechanic on the phone has to relay messages to/from him. Apparently, their alignment machine is broken (seriously, which is it?) and the guy who's supposed to come in and fix it won't be here till next week. I asked for a refund for the alignment at least so I could get it done at the dealer and have my brakes looked at (it'd cost more but at least my car would work). Owner relayed message through mechanic that no, I could not have a refund because it was a "package deal" ... wtf?
So I dumped over $500 on my car and I've got nothing to show for it. Argh. I don't want to be an ass because I still need them to fix the damn work, but I got so ripped off.
Oh, and when I picked up the car the first time they claimed I needed my hoses, spark plugs, air filter, etc replaced. My ass, the air filter and plugs were replaced just a few weeks before I had this "accident." @Q#%@#$%#@$%@#$%
Well, a few weeks ago I skid on some black ice (at ~5mph) and my front right wheel hit the curb. The car could barely get up to 15mph without vibrating horribly, so rather than take it to that "trustworthy" mechanic I took it to my local auto shop. They told me it was just a bent rim and that I needed an alignment. I bought a new rim and had it swapped on, called my mechanic and asked how much they charged for alignment - they told me their machine was broken.
Well just to be on the safe side and make sure everything else was good I took it there anyway and had them put it on a lift. They pointed at the bent(?) LCA and told me that was gone, and that they didn't know what else was broken and suggested that I just replace the whole right side suspension to the tune of $800 ($600 parts, $200 labor). I told them I would buy the parts and bring it in (got it much cheaper). So they put it on (supposedly) and tell me the car's ready, I owe them $300 for labor. Upon asking why $300 when they told me $200 before, they told me they did an alignment for me (i thought the machine was broken?) and they had "more work than anticipated" thus the extra $40. I thought whatever, this guy's an ass but I need my car.
I start driving it home and notice that that on one occasion that day when I hit the brakes my foot just fell to the floor and the brakes literally failed (felt like the weak rears were the only ones that were working). The brakes were fine for the rest of the day (though I didn't drive it much). The brakes failed on me again two days later and I almost hit a guy, so this definitely isn't a fluke and needs to be looked at. Plus, the car pulls to the right when i'm driving slow and pulls to the left when i'm driving on the highway. I dropped it off last Wednesday (it's been about ~3 weeks now since i've actually used my car).
Well I call up yesterday morning, Friday, the owner "isn't there" but apparently my car hasn't even been looked at. They promise it'd be done later that evening. Didn't call them up yesterday but asked for the owner again this morning. The owner doesn't seem to want to speak to me so the mechanic on the phone has to relay messages to/from him. Apparently, their alignment machine is broken (seriously, which is it?) and the guy who's supposed to come in and fix it won't be here till next week. I asked for a refund for the alignment at least so I could get it done at the dealer and have my brakes looked at (it'd cost more but at least my car would work). Owner relayed message through mechanic that no, I could not have a refund because it was a "package deal" ... wtf?
So I dumped over $500 on my car and I've got nothing to show for it. Argh. I don't want to be an ass because I still need them to fix the damn work, but I got so ripped off.
Oh, and when I picked up the car the first time they claimed I needed my hoses, spark plugs, air filter, etc replaced. My ass, the air filter and plugs were replaced just a few weeks before I had this "accident." @Q#%@#$%#@$%@#$%
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